developing right now, major developments in the case of a girl missing for nearly a week. >> communities in two states, holding out hope she'll be located quickly. but a body has been found. we will have the very latest. fight night in kentucky. the debate billed as a political boxing match, now just hours away. as the president explains his debate performance to diane sawyer. deadly collapse. a massive parking garage crumbles. an all-out battle to rescue a man trapped in that wreckage. governor's goof. hoping to ease the meningitis scare, he offers a phone sex hotline, instead.

good thursday morning. i'm sunny hostin. >> i'm john muller. rob and paula are off this morning. we begin this thursday with a grim discovery in a desperate search for a colorado girl missing since last friday. >> abc's clayton sandell has been following the jessica ridgeway case from the start. and has the latest on the tragic turn from westminster, colorado. >> reporter: late wednesday night, police announced a body had been found near a park in the denver suburb of or vanna. at this point, they won't a officially confirm it is 10-year-old jessica ridgeway. but multiple sources tell abc news, they believe it is the girl's body. positive identification may take several days. the fifth grader was last seen friday morning as she headed out to her short walk to school. over the weekend, her backpack was discovered six miamis away. wednesday's discovery came just hours after police cleared jessica's parents as suspects.

>> after thoroughly looking at the parents, we're confident they're not involved in the disappearance of jessica ridgeway. the focus shifts to an unknown suspect, as we think she was abducted. >> reporter: now, the police focus is on finding a suspect and identifying the body. and for the family and friends of the girl with the blonde hair and the pink aeropurple glasses, who loved math and gym class, their hope is gone. last night, before word that a body had been discovered, people gathered in indianapolis, missouri, with a prayer vigil. prayers they now know were not answered. >> it took hours to report jessica missing. her mother works overnight and didn't hear the phone when the school called to say she hadn't shown up. the other big story this morning. it is sure to be a pressure-packed day for the vice presidential candidates. >> they face off tonight in

danville, kentucky, where the faceoff is being billed as the thrill in the ville ii. >> can joe biden or paul ryan turn it into a game-changing performance? abc's brandi hitt is there. >> reporter: republican vice presidential hopeful and vice president joe biden say they're ready to go toe-to-toe in danville, kentucky. >> studying up on congressman ryan's positions. >> reporter: and tonight's showdown also comes at a critical time in the campaign. >> i've been in business for 25 years. i have no idea what you're talking about. >> reporter: last week mitt romney dominated in his first debate against president obama. in an exclusive interview with abc news' diane sawyer, the president admitted he had a bad night. >> your supporters have been saying, this wasn't a bad night. you didn't show up. >> as i said, there's no doubt that i can make a better case,

which is why i'm so looking forward to tuesday. >> is it possible you handed him the election that night? >> no. >> reporter: but polls among likely voters show romney did get a boost after the debate. and he's taking advantage of it. >> we can't afford another series of budget deficits of roughly $1 trillion a year. recognize, this is not just bad for the economy. it's bad for jobs. >> reporter: brandi hitt, abc news, danville, kentucky. abc news is proud to play a special role in tonight's debate. abc's chief foreign affairs correspondent, martha raddatz, will serve as moderator. she checked out the stage in danville yesterday. we wish her good luck. the main event tonight, beginning at 9:00 p.m. eastern. join diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos, and our team for live coverage and analysis. the romney campaign has agreed to stop mentioning the name of a navy s.e.a.l. killed in the consulate attack after

his mother complained. romney had been telling voters of sharing a christmas dinner with the former s.e.a.l., glen dougherty, two or three years ago. but his mother called on romney to stop making his death, her words, part of his political agenda. last month, the embassy attack in libya that killed four americans, including ambassador chris stevens. department officials say they rejected requests for increased security based on intelligence they had at the time. but a former officer complained his concerns were ignored. he suggested politics made a role, that didn't want to make libya seem more unstable. tensions between turkey and syria have reached a dangerous level. yesterday, a passenger jet had to land on suspicion it had military cargo onboard. the plane was allowed to continue its journey. but turkey kept the cargo

without saying exactly what was found. there are details about the man arrested at l.a.x. wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying weapons. abc news has learned he told detectives and the fbi, quote, hey, this is a game. however, officials are puzzled whether he meant the questioning or the stuff in his bags. officials are trying to figure out how he managed to fly through three countries without being stopped. the meningitis outbreak linked to can tom nated steroid injections is serious. but a mixup in florida was pretty silly. governor rick scott was giving out the phone number for the state health department's meningitis hotline when he switched two numbers. callers who dialed the 866 number got hard-core phone sex line. >> that's not good. >> no. >> did you see that suit he was wearing? that was colorful. time, now, for some weather across the nation. thunderstorms in the california coast to vegas, phoenix and albuquerque. showers in southeast texas and the miami area.

and a mix of rain and snow near the canadian border. that will be northern minnesota to michigan. a chilly and drier day in new england to the mid-atlantic regions. >> 60s in the northeast and midwest. 80s from dallas to miami. and 70s in the rockies. and when we come back, cold comfort for millions of homeowners. a painful prediction on winter heating bills. and be careful who you wish for. lance armstrong wanted to know who accused him of doping. now, he knows. and the huge amount we're spending to get our pets in the halloween spirit.

welcome back. the latest snapshot of the economy showed growth continued at a modest base. the fed's new book shows activity picking up over the late summer. the housing market provided a big boost, with existing home sales up in every region. and prices holding steady or increasing in many areas. more than two years after the deepwater horizon disaster, there's word bp and the justice department are close to a settlement over the spill. "the wall street journal" reporting negotiations have been heating up, with the two sides hammering out a multibillion-dollar deal. fedex delivering bad news to its employees. the company says it's planning to cut jobs starting early next year. fedex has been warning that the global economic slowdown is hurting its business. and the cuts will come through voluntary buyouts. get ready to spend more to stay warm this winter.

fuel prices are stable but the weather isn't. and the energy department says heating costs will be way up compared to last winter, which was the warmest on record. this season, people who use heating oil can expect bills to rise 20% to an avege of $2,500, an all-time high. natural gas customers will be paying 15% more. and americans love their dogs and cats, especially at halloween. the national retail federation says we shell out $370 million to dress up our pets in costume for the holiday. a few favorites, elvis, superman, and for the dog that wants to be cool, a hot dog. do you dress up your pets? >> i don't. >> and if you're going to dress up your pets, which is a conversation in itself, do a homemade one, right? >> i agree. i may try it this year. who knows? when we come back, to the rescue. the car crash victim saved from a fiery wreck by a couple of brave strangers. more incredible video.

the hot air balloon rides that ended with some very hard landings. and a surprise hero gives the yankees something to really cheer about. after working on the computer all day, you'd think i want to stay away from it at night. truth is, i like to stay connected with friends. but all that screen time can really dry me out. so i use visine. aah. it revives me, so i can get poked, winked, and -- ooh -- party all night long. only visine has hydroblend -- a unique blend of three moisturizers that soothe, restore, and protect to keep me comfortable for up to 10 hours. pirate party, here i co-- uh, honey? visine with hydroblend. find it in these visine products. and leaves carpets fresh. ♪ and leaves carpets fresh. you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole.

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crest pro-health clinical line. together, they help keep your teeth 97% as clean as a dental cleaning. crest. life opens up when you do. say good-bye to a piece of texas history. a once-popular ride at the six flags amusement park in dallas went down yesterday in a matter of seconds. it took only two pounds of dynamite and ten pounds of other carefully-placed explosives to bring down the 200-foot icon. another ride will replace it next year. take a look at morning road conditions. thunderstorms dampen highways around miami. it will be a slick ride in texas to corpus christi. a wet commute from albuquerque to las vegas and the california coast. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in the west, in los angeles, vegas and san francisco. returning to the news. the scathing, new report from

the u.s. anti-doping agency, virtually demolishes what's left of lance armstrong's image, painting him as a liar, a cheat and a bully. >> the investigation found armstrong was at the center of a highly-sophisticated and secret doping program. the details were provided by dozens of witnesses, including 11 of armstrong's teammates who say, he pushed them to cheat with him. the agency's chief says the evidence was just too overwhelming to ignore. >> our job, unfortunately, is to act on the evidence. nothing else. nothing more. nothing less. that's what we've done in this case. and what we saw, and the evidence shows an undeniable web of sophisticated doping, all aimed to succeed and bring success to this team. >> the agency stripped armstrong of his cycling titles. he chose not to fight the sanctions. but called the investigation a witch hunt. and he continues to insist he never cheated.

in south florida, crews are digging through the rubble of a collapsed parking garage on miami-dade college campus. a person is in extremely critical condition after being trapped for 13 hours. the parking structure was under construction but nearly complete when that roof collapsed. >> i was able to see the last floor just crumble down. and i just saw smoke coming up. and people just running around. >> the company overseeing the construction is extending its sympathies to the families of the victims. and says it is working to find out why that building collapsed. a plea deal has been reached in the case of a colorado student who was shot after she wandered into a house drunk. zoe ripple pled guilty to felony trespassing. but her record will be wiped clean if she stays out of trouble. the colorado university student claims she was given a date rape drug the night she ended up inside a stranger's home. >> really scary things can

happen. and it's so important to keep, you know, your bearings about you and really be conscious of what you're doing and what other people are doing. >> ripple was shot in the hip after she showed up in the homeowners' bedroom and was repeatedly warned to leave. an elderly minnesota couple is alive this morning after the heroic action of a couple of good samaritans. cameron joesec and his neighbor, raced to the car after a head-on collision. they were able to pull the woman out. a sheriff's deputy arrived with a crowbar to rescue the other driver. the annual balloon fiesta makes for a colorful display over the skies of albuquerque. but it wasn't picture-perfect. some of the hot air balloons had rough landings as winds picked up. several crews hit the ground so hard, everyone tumbles from the basket. one balloon got stuck on a light

pole. and another ended up in power lines. fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. >> some video there. excitement building for fans of america's pastime. >> the road to the world series is in full-swing. we get the latest highlights from espn news. >> good morning. i'm jade mccarthy with your "sportscenter" update. two teams with their season on the line wednesday night. one of them winning it in walkoff fashion. let's pick it up with jose valverde and the tigers, trying to close out the a's in game four of the alds. bottom nine. a's down by two. doc donaldson lines one off the wall. tying run now on second. next batter. reddick and donaldson score. it is a tie game. the a's, the major league-leading 14 walkoff wins this. >> stan:. and guess what? you can add another.

coco crisp, coming through. the a's score three in the ninth. the magic continues. they score a game five, coming your way tonight. how about the reds and the giants? top of the second. tied at 1-1. gregor blanco, with the two-run shot, puts the giants on top. they're trying to stay alive. tim lincecum with the lead. 5-2, giants. he gets navarro. top seven. giants up 6-3. pablo sandoval, crushes this one. that's another two-run shot. and three homers and three rbis. lincecum dealing in the eighth. and he gets ivy. six ks in this one. giants tie the series at 2-2. that's a look at some of the

action last night. hope you have a great morning. also, an exciting end to last night's orioles/yankees game. with the yankees behind in the bottom of the ninth. pinch hitter raul ibanez, he's not done. in the bottom of the 12th, they're all tied up. ibanez does it again. the yanks win it 3-2. they lead 2-1. game four tonight in the bronx. that's money. two home runs. wow. up next, "the pulse." and food for thought. what a lot of nobel prize winners have in common. and how much is too much to pay for a good burger? how about 300 bucks? hey, check it out. she's using the mr. clean magic eraser bath scrubber. i've heard of it, but i haven't seen one up close. what's the word around the sink? that it removes 3 times more soap scum per swipe, and it came from outer space. it is not from outer space! no, man, it's from outer space.

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and topping "the pulse," this morning, it's nobel prize season. here's something to chew on as all those brainiacs get their prizes. maybe it's something they ate. >> there's a new study in the "new england journal of medicine" ties chocolate consumption to how many nobel prize winners a country has. switzerland leads the way. and in nobel, the u.s. is somewhere in the middle on both of them. eat some chocolate, makes you smart. >> makes you smarter. a restaurant here in new york has created, get this, a $295 hamburger. it's dubbed le burger extrasganze. it's the most expensive in the world. >> the meat alone is 80 bucks a pound. it's black truffles, caviar, sea

salt. the bun is flecked with 24 carat cold flakes from switzerland. and it's not just for show. they have sold a few of these things. >> apparently, it's really tasty. >> i don't want to eat metal. it sounds weird to me. big bird is enjoying a big bump in popularity, after nearly overshadowing the presidential debate. and you can see more of our feathered friend come halloween. >> versions of the costume are flying off the shelves. likely to be the hottest getup of the year. the sales have spiked 500% since the debate. i guess it looks like canary yellow is the new black. >> we're not kidding here, sunny. you're going to be big bird. >> i have the one on the far right. i ordered it. >> did you do this only after the obama/romney debate? >> right after the debate? >> just right after the debate.

>> you took the news story. why aren't you wearing it? reporter involvement. >> next time. reporter involvement. >> next time. >> next time. about asking out the cutest girl in algebra. the metcalfe brothers had a staring contest to see who'd get the last bite of dessert. four old roommates debated whether asia was or wasn't the greatest '80s supergroup ever. and a surprise birthday party caught amanda sullivan totally off-guard. all over delicious entrees like new smoky chipotle chicken fajitas from our $20 dinner for two. chili's -- more life happens here.

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in a toothpaste. updating the top stories. a tragic end to the search for a missing 10-year-old colorado girl, who vanished on her way to school. sources say a body was found in a denver suburb. and it is believed to be the body of jessica ridgeway. stakes are high as joe biden and paul ryan face off for 90 minutes tonight in the only vice presidential debate of this campaign. president obama tells abc's diane sawyer that joe needs to be joe during tonight's debate. the president conceded he didn't do so well during his own debate with mitt romney. but he's not ready to throw in the towel. looking at today's weather. showers around miami and southeast texas. a wintry mix in the upper peninsula of michigan to northern minnesota. showers and thunderstorms around albuquerque and the central coast of california. finally this morning, what do you do if you have some free time and 50 million extra bucks?

>> it's easy. >> go to the beach? >> you travel to outer space. here's abc's keert radia. >> reporter: you saw her on stage with andrea cbocelli in 1997. now, expect to see sara brightman in space. she signed up and paid up to be the next space tourist. she is expected to blast off some time in 2015, aboard a russian soyuz rocket. brightman wouldn't say how much she's paying. but sources tell abc news the price tag was at least $50 million. after the announcement, she sat down with abc news for her only american interview. and said this has been a lifelong dream, inspired by the space race of the 1960s. >> i wanted to go to space really since i was a little girl. >> reporter: she says she may even stage a performance from the space station.

>> i think that might be forthcoming. >> reporter: in july, brightman traveled to the cosmonaut training facility outside of moscow, where she got the okay to fly. brightman will welcome the eighth space tourist. the first was american businessman dennis tito in 2001. the latest was cirque du soleil founder, who became the first clown in space. brightman will become the first singer. she says her stage experience prepared her for space training, which includes enduring up to eight-times the force of gravity. >> it's like an elephant sitting on your chest. >> reporter: what about the other perils of space travel? >> no showers for two weeks? >> i knew this would come up. they have a wonderful way to remain extremely clean up there. >> reporter: perhaps brightman has been preparing for this moment for year. after all, this song was her first big hit way back